Design guidelines for B2C e-commerce in virtual worlds

  • Authors:

  • Minh Quang Tran;Shailey Minocha;Dave Roberts;Angus Laing;Darren Langdridge

  • Affiliations:

  • The Open University, UK;The Open University, UK;The Open University, UK;Loughborough University, UK;The Open University, UK

  • Venue:
  • BCS-HCI '11 Proceedings of the 25th BCS Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
  • Year:
  • 2011

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Abstract

Virtual worlds are three-dimensional (3D) persistent multi-user online environments in which users interact through avatars. Virtual worlds support many kinds of activities, including education, socialising, gaming and e-commerce. Our research focuses on how virtual worlds can be used to facilitate business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce involving real items. Examples of affordances of virtual worlds for e-commerce include 3D simulations, multi-user environments and avatar-based interactions. We have conducted empirical research to gather data about consumers' experiences in virtual worlds to understand ways to utilise their affordances for B2C e-commerce. Based on our empirical research and a literature review, we have derived design guidelines for the design and evaluation of B2C e-commerce environments involving virtual worlds. This poster presents a summary of the research project and a subset of the guidelines.